Revised and Edited by Mr. D 11/16/11



energy pyramid
By, Benji Bacharach, Will Henderson, and Terry Brown








EnergyPyramid.gif





As you can see the biggest animal (the owl) would be the last consumer (tertiary consumer) This is because
biggest animal eats the small animal which eats the producers so the primary gets a lot of energy and the tertiary only gets a little energy of the original energy from the sun.







Questions about the Energy Pyramid:







1. The amount of energy at the top of the Energy Pyramid is much less than the energy that comes from the sun. Where does the energy go?


The energy from the sun goes to plants and travels upwards to the herbivores, then the secondary consumers, then the tertiary consumers.
















2. Write down the animals in the pyramid above from smallest population to largest population.
Owl, rat, then cricket














What would happen if there were more animals at the top of the pyramid?

The other animals population would go down and the animals at the top of the chain would take over. A large number of tertiary consumers (like the owl) would not be supported by the pyramid and the energy pyramid would topple.









3. What direction is the Energy traveling in the picture above?

The energy is traveling up.













4. What are things that work in helping you understand the ecosystem in the Energy Pyramid above?

It helps you understand what animals are in an ecosystem and what the animals eat. The Energy pyramid is very simple and clear. You can see the ENERGY moving upwards. It reaches a small apex because some energy is lost our used along the way.





5. What are things that are missing or could be improved in the model of the Energy Pyramid above?

More animals and the sun could improve it. Decomposers are important in the ecosystem, yet are not represented in the energy pyramid.